


Muted, Not Silenced

by UnknownPizza



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: AU The Horde Kids Leave Together, Almost no romantic relationships, Angella Keeps Five Horde Soldiers, Angst, Catra (She-Ra) Leaves the Horde, Catra (She-Ra) Needs a Hug, Catra is a Badass, Catra's personality gets changed, Catra-centric (She-Ra), Entrapta and Catra are Besties, Flashbacks, Fluff, Found Family, Good Parent Angella (She-Ra), Kyle has Rights, Let Catra (She-Ra) Say Fuck, Momgella, Scorpia (She-Ra) is a Good Friend, Shadow Weaver | Light Spinner's A+ Parenting, The Horde Kids Have a Sibling Relashionship, Violence, basically a 'what if' AU, they all still gay tho
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-17 11:01:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29099214
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UnknownPizza/pseuds/UnknownPizza
Summary: Two boys walked down the hallway towards Catra. They didn't know it but their words would change the course of the war forever.Shadow Weaver would snap at Catra resulting in an 'incapacitating injury'. Everyone would pick on her. Her squad mates would sympathies. They would support each other. They would help her. She would prove herself.Adora would finally see the Horde for what it was, a glorified piece of shit. Catra would listen to her, with a catch.But would she find acceptance in those stuck up, cowardly princesses? Perhaps she would find something she never thought possible, a parent figure, one who wouldn't leave.Nevertheless, she would learn a valuable lesson: 'Words have the power to change History forever.'Basically a 'The whole squad leaves the Horde AU, with a twist'I got inspired by a passing though and couldn't get it out of my head. Also I love Catra and it shows.
Relationships: Adora & Bow & Catra & Glimmer (She-Ra), Adora & Catra & Kyle & Lonnie & Rogelio (She-Ra), Angella & Catra (She-Ra), Catra & Entrapta & Scorpia (She-Ra)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 83





	1. Chapter 1

# Prologue

It wasn't a secret in the Horde that Shadow Weaver was vindictive and cruel, if you found yourself in the way of her ever increasing ire, you wouldn't last long. It wasn't a secret either that she would often play favorites with a certain cadet. As it stood, there were two ways in order to get into her good graces. Suck up to Adora, although this was often the less efficient of the two. Or two, bully and belittle Catra.

For some reason, Catra was her punching bag. When she walked down the artificial halls of the Fright Zone, she was often jumped on and beat, except when she was with Adora. As a result, Catra often stuck near her, leading people to see Catra as her _pet_.

 _That_ particular day Catra was alone in the halls. She had been caught sneaking around with Adora around the Force Captain quarters, of course Adora hadn't been punished, she was eating comfortably with the rest of their squad. Catra however was punished, she wasn't allowed breakfast nor dinner for three days. It would've been a week had Adora not asked Shadow Weaver to lower her sentence.

Her bare feet silently paced around the green tinted walls of the Fright Zone. Whenever she heard horde cadets walking her way, she would jump and hide on top the pipes and cables adorning the ceiling of the long corridors.

Another pair of feet approached. Catra once again jumped to the pipes and crouched, waiting for them to pass by. When they were under her, her stomach grumbled, the lack of last night's dinner finally catching up to it. "Shit..." Catra cursed under her breath.

The two cadets looked around when they heard the grumble, eventually they looked up and found her eyes. They removed their helmets, only senior cadets had access to a full Horde combat uniform. She still had ten eight years to go before she could graduate to senior cadets. 'Eight more years of shadow filled hell.' she thought.

Catra groaned when she recognized the cadets, she had affectionally named Shiteater and Asssucker, she liked the second name since she imagined it being spelled with three 's'. Shiteater was the taller of the two, he was tan skinned with blonde or orange hair combed neatly to the side, his ridiculously ugly face smirking at her. Asssucker was his brother, he basically looked the same, only that his hair was black and was short, he looked up at her with a smug grin. _._

 _ _  
__"Hey! Come down here you two-eyed freak!" Shiteater called up to her.

Catra groaned. The poor fool. "You have two eyes you fucking idiot!" Shiteater scowled at her. Can you believe it? 'Scowled', it's funny because he's as dumb as a horse, looked like one too. Catra chuckled at the thought.

"Now, now. What would Shadow Weaver think if the already most useless cadet mouthed off to her superiors?" Asssuckers elbowed Shiteater, smirking. 'The already most useless cadet' Jeez, that sentence composition.

"The only useless shits I see, are you two. I mean seriously, I could beat your scores with a blindfold on." Then another thought occurred to her. "You're even asking me to come down. I could literally stay here and you wouldn't be able to do shit." She smirked and laid down lazily on a pipe to emphasize the point.

"Oh yeah prove it! I dare you to end up first of your squad in the next simulation." Shiteater said and her ears perked up, but then pinned back down. Shadow Weaver had made it clear she could never out shine Adora. She had threatened her, the one time she hadn't held back.

"I heard today simulations will be open for viewing." Added Asssucker, snapping Catra out of her memories. Her mouth narrowed into a line. Would it be worth it? She could prove the whole Horde wrong, if they were open for viewing, she could impress other higherups. Then again, she wouldn't risk it for those two idiots, her pride wouldn't even be on the line, right?

"Oh please, she wouldn't even try to." Shiteater continued to talk as if she wasn't there. "After all, it would make her master sad."

Oh it was on. Catra hated being called a pet, Shadow Weaver did that enough, she would often times have to act like one to her, walking on four legs, eating and drinking from the floor... She clenched her fists, claws digging slightly into her hands. "What are your scores?" She growled out and glared at them

* * *

As it turned out, their scores were average, easily beaten. But, no. She was aiming for the top of the class, she would prove she was not a useless waste of resources, she would prove she was better than Adora, or Lonnie, or Rogelio.

She managed to get to the simulation area on time. The others were already there, putting on their gear. She put hers on quickly and flashed a small smile to Adora. "Hey Adora," She drawled.

"Catra! You're early for the test simulation!"

So that's what it was. No wonder viewing was allowed, Force Captains would grade them and assign them new schedule according to their skill levels. That also meant Octavia would be there, she frowned, she would be hard to sway in her favor, but not impossible. Vultak was known to be hard as well. Grizzlor was known to be lenient with hybrids like her. There would also be two Scorpioni captains, it would be their debut and she would make an impression alright. Apart from them, there was also a couple others as well, around 15 or 16.

Suddenly the door to the room opened and Shadow Weaver floated in. Her squad snapped to attention, she followed suit, although a little slower and lazily. "Welcome cadets." She drawled and then her gaze flicked briefly to Catra. "Ah, Catra, you're early. I'm surprised a worthless and lazy cadet as yourself would be capable of basic decency."

Catra said nothing, instead choosing to gaze into Shadow Weaver's eyes, she knew the witch could read her and she didn't hide the challenge behind her gaze. The witch narrowed her eyes at her, Catra was sure she would pay later but for now she relished in her frustration. Adora looked at her with a worried expression.

"Today you will be attempting a different kind of exercise. The setting is as follows: The princesses have captured you and your squad and left you to die in Beast Island." Adora and Kyle gasped, Adora glaring at the simulation before them. "Luckily, the Horde has managed to locate you an sent out a rescue party. Your objective is to get to the other side of the island, where they await. The 'Force Captain' in this simulation will be Adora." Shadow Weaver's gaze washed over them. "I will not be providing you instructions, you are to make your own strategy. I will be watching in the veiwing platform along with the Force Captains and other cadets. Do not disappoint." She added with a pointed look at Adora.

They saluted, and the witch left, leaving the squad to plan out their strategies. Immediately Adora pipped in with orders "We should rush through, escape any razorfins or pookas or anything. Just like in the woods simulation." The rest of the squad murmured their agreements and fake salutes. All except Catra.

"I think we should be more methodical. Be careful, advance quietly avoiding any conflict unless necessary. Walk around the 'shore' until the wind-"

"Don't be dumb Catra!" Lonnie interrupted. "I don't know what got into you, but you never help us, as if your plan could be any good. Adora was chosen as Force Captain 'cause she's better than you, accept it." She crossed her arms and glared at her. You could tell that Shadow Weaver was lenient with her. Catra was going to retort but Kyle beat her to it.

"I th-think...We should d-d-do Adora's s-strategy" He stuttered, it was something he had developed recently, but Catra so far had been patient.

Rogelio opened his mouth to speak up, but struggled to form the words, eventually giving up and resorting to sign language. He went a little slow so as to not confuse the rest. "I agree. Adora was choses because Shadow Weaver believes in her. She is our best bet in the long run."

Adora placed a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, it's ok. We can do this, trust me."

Catra knew that it wasn't going to work, but she kept her mouth shut, teeth grinding as she slowly nodded and agreement. Adora smiled and took the front of the formation. Catra took the back. She wasn't about to let her squad's stupidity hinder her survival. She would slip into the terrain as she often did. Of course, saving your teammates gave you points, so she would naturally help them, if they got jumped.

The door to the simulation slowly opened and they ran in, rushing through the field at top speed. The place itself looked like a more advanced and rundown Fright Zone. There were the occasional vine and tree. Overall the terrain was perfect for stealth, also known as exactly the opposite of what her squad was doing.

She sighed and climbed up a tall tree. It would be easier to follow them from that distance as well as making it easier to see the layout. The room was huge, to big for them to complete in one run. Her squad would get tired quickly. She looked about and saw the drones that acted as the eyes of the Force Captains, three were trained on her. She frowned and looked back down, her squad had encountered their first adversaries. Surprisingly enough, they weren't robots, but instead, cadets, perhaps a two years older than them.

No body had noticed her absence. She slowly made her way down the tree and onto another, using big branches to jump around until she found the battle. Rogelio was protecting Kyle, while Lonnie and Adora attacked from the front, pinning and 'wounding' the animals, but even they were being overtaken by numbers. Catra narrowed her eyes waiting for the right moment to strike.

Just before an animal could strike down Kyle, she jumped in, knocking the guy unconscious, and using her momentum and his body as a spring board she jumped and managed to knock out the other two attacking Rogelio. That gave him the chance to regroup with the others while she held a hand out for Kyle, who took it with little hesitation. Back on his feet Catra led Kyle to the bushes and crouched low, putting a finger to her lips to signal him to be quiet.

Together the watched as the battle was finished. Rogelio, Lonnie and Adora started looking for him, he was about get up before Catra stopped him. She held out a finger to test the wind, and realized it led deeper into the simulation room. The commotion had surely alerted others of their location, and the wind could be used to track them. She frowned and climbed another tree, helping Kyle do the same noticing his ankle had been sprained. She helped him hold steady and he gave her a small smile.

"We need to keep going. He probably got tagged and got taken away." Adora reasoned. "I'll give him some of my points to help him pass if ever."

"Ugh, where's Catra when you actually need her?" Lonnie groaned.

Catra smirked and gave a downcast Kyle a playful nudge. Then she pointed at a few vines in the middle of two trees. She jumped across easily and held her hand to Kyle. He looked terrified, but Catra decided to help him, maybe as to accumulate karma to help her get through Shadow Weaver's sure punishment after. She smiled, a rare sight, and held a thumbs up, urging Kyle. He nodded and swung, almost falling, but Catra managed to catch him in time.

The rest of the simulation went the same until it all went wrong. Rogelio tripped during one of the escapes. Catra quickly urged Kyle to stay while she dove in. Knocking down to animals before they could get to him. Rogelio saw her, she would surely get scolded by them afterwards. Then she turned her attention to the four remaining animals. She jumped onto some tech, narrowly avoiding getting tagged, she rolled and sprung back up with her cat like mobility. She managed to land on top of the one going for Adora and used the speed to save Lonnie. But while Adora was distracted by her sudden appearance she was tagged by the remaining two. Catra and Lonnie went into action taking them down, with Rogelio helping with the flank.

Adora laid on the ground tears stinging at her eyes. "I failed..." She murmured. Catra sighed but looked at her with determined eyes.

"Not yet." She said, everyone looked at her. She could feel the drones examining her. "The only way to fail in life is to die. And you haven't died yet."

"Catra's r-right!" Kyle called out from the tree, being helped down by Rogelio. "Look" He pointed at the red spot on the gear. "I-It's not-t f-fatal! Sh-She c-can still m-m-make it."

"Rogelio, give me your shirt." Catra said, and he did. She placed it on the supposed wound and Adora applied pressure. "Rogelio will carry Adora, I'll take Kyle though the trees and Lonnie will be our defense." She explained hoping that for once these idiots would actually listen.

Surprisingly, both Rogelio and Kyle nodded. Followed by a smiling Adora and a reluctant Lonnie.

With her strategy, they managed to complete the simulation. When they arrived, they were greeted by the Force Captains. But before they could he a word out, a loud roar echoed through the room.

Everyone was baffled by the sight of a rampaging Bullwolf that was racing towards them a top speed. At first they thought it was a part of the simulation, until it passed the threshold, but by then it was to late to react, Catra felt the constricting magic around her, just like every time Shadow Weaver punished her. The bull ignored everyone and slammed right into Catra, throwing her against the wall. She gasped, the air being taken out of her, she could barely hear the voices screaming her name. She felt a familiar chill run up her spine, as was the norm whenever Shadow Weaver used magic on her. Then her vision faded to black.

* * *

Catra startled awake, her instincts still on high alert. She gasped and looked around. She found herself on a cot in a lone room in the Horde infirmary, the white lights reflecting onto the metal walls painted white, causing her to wince and screw her eyes shut. A sharp pain erupted from her head, she quickly pressed a hand to it, hoping it would calm, instead, she found bandages wrapped around it. She panicked, she remembered stories of soldiers that hit their heads too hard and forgot everyone.

She tried to remember. ' _Shiteater...Asssucker...Simulation...Squad... **bullwolf...Shadow**_ **Weaver.** ' She felt tears at well up at her eyes. Of course that witch would have destroyed her victory. She had warned her, hadn't she? It was her fault, she should have heeded the warning. She should have let Adora have this. She should've saved Adora instead of Lonnie-

Her train of thought was interrupted when the doors to her room were slid open. She tensed and whipped her head around, expecting Shadow Weaver but instead she saw her squad shily walk in. Lonnie was the first in, followed by Adora then Rogelio urging Kyle inside. Her ears perked up slightly, in a mixture of happiness, confusion, relief and curiosity. Their eyes flicked over to her and widened.

"Guys! She's awake!" Lonnie exclaimed and rushed to her side. Followed by Adora.

"Catra!" Adora hugged her, she flinched a bit at the contact. She opened her mouth to speak but Kyle beat her to it. 

"A-Are y-y-you ok? D-Do-do you re-memb-ber u-us?" He asked worriedly.

Catra rolled her eyes smiling, she went to retort. She opened her mouth but no sound came out. Her brows furrowed in worry and she tried again...And again...And again. By that point her squad mates, yes even Lonnie, were looking at her with worry. Suddenly the door was once again thrown opened. A small, skinny man walked in followed by the two Scorpioni Force Captains. He looked over at the group of kids and frowned.

"Kids not supposed to be here." He grumbled out. "Get out..."

"Now, now." The 'smaller' of the two had white hair and smaller pincers as well, she frowned at the small man. "I think they can be here. They clearly care for her." She gave a pointed look at Lonnie, Catra didn't know why, Lonnie swallowed hard and nodded, looking at the floor. Then she turned her head towards Catra. "How are you doing?"

Catra went to speak again but words wouldn't form from her mouth. She whimpered before she could stop it. The man frowned, Catra guessed he was a doctor or something, he pulled out a flashlight and flashed it to Catra's mouth. "Open" He simply stated. She did, honestly she wasn't in a position to argue. He examined the inside of her throat and then the outside. He frowned again, this time feeling her head through the bandages, finding the place of her injury. Catra hissed and gasped as a sharp pain once again erupted from her head. She felt the familiar warmth of blood slowly expand, matting her mane.

The doctor hummed, his frown somehow getting deeper. "Is miracle she alive." He said taking out a report pad and beginning to write. "It like we believe, she will not speak again. Incapacitating injury." He began dictating as he wrote. "No combat chain progression."

Catra felt her heart drop, the room suddenly becoming too constricting. Catra felt suffocated. She looked around, everything was blurry from the tears she could feel pooling in her eyes. She desperately tried to speak again, to prove the doctor wrong, but nothing came out, eventually her attempts gave into quiet whimpers. Her squad gasped and Adora hugged her tight, while Rogelio patted her back. Kyle looked sad and Lonnie, surprisingly, was as well.

The bigger of the two scorpioni glared at the doctor and then looked sadly at the group. "I know how that sounds," Her voice was surprisingly gentle for being a Horde Force Captain. Catra flinched waiting for her to scream at her, or fault her for the accident. "Normally, the Horde would just send you to the front lines to die." She explained, lacking no venom. 

Adora hugged her tighter and Kyle held onto Rogelio, while Rogelio grasped her shoulders, Lonnie just looked down, hands fidgeting. Catra felt herself begin to panic her breathing got ragged and she was sure they all could tell she was terrified. That only made her panic more, after all, you should never show weakness in the Horde.

"Don't worry" The scorpioni quickly amended. "Your performance back there impressed the Force Captains. We're taking your squad's case up to Hordak-" She stopped when the doctor glared at her. She grumbled but continued. " _Lord_ Hordak. He will see if we can develop a 'Strategy and Administration Branch' you will be the first to participate." She smiled. "If everything go well, we will add you to the sign language class, Cadet Rogelio is in." Her smile faltered a bit. "Shadow Weaver however will remain as you keeper, and you will stay in the same barracks."

Catra nodded slowly. She focused to remember the correct signs and signed out 'Yes ma'am'. Rogelio nodded with a small smile and Adora hugged her tighter. 

The scorpioni women smiled and the smaller on placed a pincer to her shoulder leaning in and whispering. "Don't worry, we won't let them hurt you." Catra looked surprised and met her squad mates, Lonnie, Rogelio and Kyle nodded with serious expressions. Catra breathed out and and closed her eyes, she was too tired to deal with empathy, or anything at all. A few tears finished falling from her eyes as she felt herself drift away to sleep, surrounded by her squadmates...friends?


	2. "Fight as not to get killed, lay low as to not get killed, scheme as to not get killed and kill as to not get killed...Or just be Adora." -Catra

Catra groaned and banged her head against her metal desk, her mane and bangs sprawled onto the various papers she had been working on. She was sure the bang was heard throughout the Fright Zone, it sure felt like it. She could feel the start of a headache form.

"Having trouble?" She heard from behind, immediately recognizing Lonnie's voice. Catra grumbled and gave her the finger, a sign within the squad that meant 'fuck off'.

Lonnie laughed and sauntered over to give Catra a small pat on the shoulder. The two had grown close over the couple months since the accident, to the point that she was like a 'sister', although you'd never hear any of them saying it. Now Lonnie often accompanied Catra trough the Fright Zone while they did various tasks, avoiding any officers or guards while they laughed and joked around. They even had a sort of insight joke, 'Beware the Weaver', It was pretty self explanatory.

"What are you doing?" She asked as she leaned onto the wall next to them and peered a Catra's work.

'Homework, obviously.' Catra signed back, giving Lonnie a face that could only be interpreted as: Duh.

Lonnie huffed and rolled her eyes. "It's not as obvious y'know? It's not like you're known for being responsible." She crossed her arms on her chest and gave Catra what she called, the Lonnie look (trade mark). "Is it hard?"

'No.' Catra shook her head. 'Just long.' She signed and sighed, getting back to work. The homework itself was simple, just run a few numbers, find out percentages, probabilities, that kind of stuff, but simple did not mean quick, especially since Aida was getting on her case for 'not showing her work'. She began scribbling numbers on a separate paper an answering the questions on her main one.

"When is it due?" Lonnie asked suspicion clear in her voice. Catra knew it would come to it, if Adora was responsible Lonnie was on another level. She liked things being organized and done beforehand. Catra could kind of agree with the organization part, she liked giving the final numbers in a clear and concise manner. But then again...

'Today.' Catra answered quickly, glancing at the clock she added sheepishly 'In 43 minutes'. Her ears fell against her head when she was met with the Lonnie Look (trade mark) intensified. 'Okay, listen, I stayed up yesterday doing this.' When she finished signing, she looked through her papers until she found one with a map and tactics written on it.

"Wait, really?" Lonnie's expression softened as she regarded the paper. "Catra, I've told you, your work should take priority. This- Thanks." Lonnie smiled and held out her fist for Catra to bump.

Catra bumped Lonnie's fist with her tail. 'If I had known you would make it weird, I wouldn't have done it.' She looked away, smiling slightly, the continued working.

* * *

Catra sat bored in class. Aida, the smaller of the two scorpioni Force Captains, was collecting the homework and correcting any errors on the spot. Her tail began swishing side to side, luckily her table was situated at the back of the classroom, where no one could point it out or yank it. She shuddered, fucking Asssucker had yanked it once in passing, he got a nice scratch mark to show for it, then he had ratted her out to Shadow Weaver who in turn gave her a nice scar on her back, luckily her fur hides the scar almost perfectly. 

She noticed Kyle was shifting in his seat next to her,looking for something in his messenger bag they all got, curtesy of Aida. She used her tail to tap Kyle lightly on the shoulder, he flinched but looked over anyways. 'What's wrong?' she signed out. A good thing about knowing sign, is that you could chat in class without getting into too much trouble.

"I c-can't f-f-find my h-homework..."

Now, one may think that it isn't that big of a deal, well that person would be either delusional, or living somewhere outside the Horde. Forgetting or loosing homework would sometimes warrant an earful, rations being cut or even beatings, depending of how often you committed the 'offence'. They didn't know if Aida was like that, so far they had been careful not to mess up their rep with the Fright Zone's kindest officers. 

Catra looked own at her own piece of paper, she closed her eyes, deciding if it would be worth it. Then she looked at Kyle, he was desperately triple checking his bag, fear eating at his features. She sighed and took out her homework, erasing her name from the top and writing in Kyle's. She kept it to herself, Kyle would probably refuse it anyways. When Aida finished looking over Adora's, yes she was in the class too thanks to Shadow Weaver, Aida moved onto Kyle. He had been so focused on trying to seem as small as possible, he hadn't noticed Catra slide her paper over to his side of the table until Aida had picked it up.

Kyle looked up in surprise, looking over to Catra, she just offered him a small smile. Smiling was strange for her, it wasn't a normal thing, but something she found herself doing more and more during the past few months.

"Very good, Kyle." Aida said, offering a small smile, eyes briefly flicking over to Catra. Catra swallowed a lump in her throat but kept her face neutral. "What about you Catra?" Catra could feel all the eyes in the room flick over to her, as they often did when her name was called. She was, after all 'that freaky walking cat, who had no potential nor future', honestly, it surprised Catra how gossipy Shadow Weaver could be, and most importantly, how un creative, even Asssucker was more creative than her.

'I forgot it at the barracks' She signed, most in the class didn't understand sign, so they just awaited Aida's reaction, while those who did, began chuckling, causing Catra's ears to pin back. "I see," She said, studying Catra, which only made her feel more uncomfortable "Well then, I guess you won't mind going to the board and doing the first five exercises?"

Catra resisted the urge to groan, those were the longest ones. She got up and walked to the board, flashing a smile to Adora and Kyle. Adora gave her a thumbs up and mouthed 'you got this.' Kyle gave her a grateful smile and another thumbs up. Catra took a deep breath, she hated having all the eyes on her, it reminded her too much of the simulation a few months prior. She took the marker and began writing down the lines of numbers from memory. It was going to be a long day.

* * *

Turns out the day had been super long. Nothing too note worthy had happened, only that someone had told Shiteater that she hadn't handed in her homework, and of course he went and told Shadow Weaver. Those three must be in league to find a reason to kill her. Even more reason to stay out of trouble, not like she could do much, her body still ached.

Suddenly, she heard a huff coming from down the hall, followed by Adora's voice crying out "Ow!"

Catra's vouch to not cause trouble would be immediately broken...For a good cause of course.

Catra sped up her pace, rounding the corner to find Adora pinned against the wall, held up by the scruff of her shirt by two older girls who should have no business messing with her squad. She stood just out of their sight, arms crossed, mentally preparing herself for a confrontation. She let out a loud growl to catch their attention. Adora looked over, eyes bright with hope. 

"Catra!'' She exclaimed happily, the older girls, for which Catra was thinking up names, slammed Adora against the wall and let her fall, putting all attention to Catra. The first of them smirked, she looked like a vulture, thus she was baptized Birdshit. "Looks like we caught ourselves a freak. Told you girls we'd get her with the right bait." The three girls started laughing, the second's laugh standing out. 

Catra's ears pinned down at the sound, it sounded like a hyena's laugh. Catra smirked despite herself. The second would be named Hyenabut, not as funny as Asssucker but it was the best she could do in such a short amount of time. She signed to Adora 'Her laugh sounds like a hyena on crack' Adora snorted and the three girls returned their gazes towards Catra, glaring.

"What did you mime, runt?" The third one growled. Catra blinked at her, she had been so insignificant she hadn't even paid attention to her. Catra decided she wasn't worth the brainpower to name, thus she remained nameless for the rest of eternity.

Catra smirked and began singing to Adora again. 'Bitches can't understand us, let's just sign, it'll infuriate them.'

'Sure'

'Honestly, did you even notice the third one?'

'No, not really.'

'She's so insignificant I bet even Shadow Weaver can think of something to be mad at her about. The other two I named Birdshit and Hyenabut'

'I think Hyenaass sounds better.'

'Hordak's tits you're right! It's even spelled with two a's and s's.'

'ss?'

'No, s's, like a plural form'

's'es.'

The three girls, who had been watching the back and forth suddenly lost their patience, lunging at Catra. She had little time to react but managed to duck under the first punch and body tackle Birdshit. Then she jumped onto Birdshit, using her as a spring board to punch Hyenaass' head, essentially knocking her out. Her feline instincts alerted her of someone behind her but by then she couldn't dodge, 'Enter name here' had grabbed her tail and pulled. Catra hissed and meowled at the pain, jumping up and kicking 'Enter name here' hard on the head, causing her to fall to the floor unconscious. By that time Birdshit had gotten up but Adora just hit her head and kill stole like a boss.

'I'm gonna feel that later.' Catra signed at Adora.

"Thanks Catra, I didn't know what I would've done without you."

Catra shrugged. 'You probably would have managed-'

"Is that a complement I see?" Adora asked excitedly elbowing Catra on the ribs.

'No you idiot! You'd be lost without me.' She shoved back.

* * *

Rogelio groaned and turned in his cot, his dry scales scraping against the rough blankets. Catra, Adora and Kyle sat around the cot, making idle conversation, waiting for Lonnie to arrive. Catra mostly watched, little times intervening. 

"And that was the incident with the mouse." Adora finished recounting.

'They were there, 'Dora' Catra had taken to abbreviating their names, it saved time, specially for someone as lazy as Catra. Seriously Rogelio had seven letters, Lonnie had six and Adora five. Catra blew out a breath and let herself fall backwards into the hard cot, wincing at the pressure on her injured tail. She used her elbows to cover her eyes from the light.

"A-a-are you o-o-ok?" Kyle gently prodded her shoulder. Catra nodded. 'Yes, just tired.' She waved off his concerns. Lonnie suddenly walked in, looking gloom.

"The infirmary don't have any skin oil on hand."

"And the storage facility?" Adora asked.

"No luck, apparently the Horde lost a key battle in Salenias and the water irritated the reptilian soldiers' skin. They diverted all the shipments over there." Lonnie sat next to Rogelio. "We're gonna have to wait it out." She patted his shoulders, and Rogelio gave a small, frustrated groan.

Adora smiled. "I'm sure it won't be that bad." She waved off her squad's stupefied expressions. "I'll talk to Shadow Weaver! She'll help us get the oil, and then you'll be all better." She exclaimed and swiftly left them alone.

"She's..."

"C-clue l-le-less" Kyle finished for her, and Rogelio groaned in agreement. The Catra jumped up from her laying position and stretched. She went to the desk and scribbled something down on a piece of paper, folding it and putting it away.

'we're fucked either way.' She shrugged. 'might as well make the most of what little time we have right?' Then she left.

"Sh-she's jok-k-king r-right?" Kyle asked, concerned.

"You know what Kyle? I have no idea."

* * *

The thing about the Fright Zone is it simulates nature almost perfectly. And no, Catra wasn't thinking about the simulations. It wasn't known that Catra did jobs for some people in power, taking out rivals, stealing information, transmitting messages, and other stuff. Everyone was trying to survive, it was a constant dance, one that needed almost perfect balance, fight as not to get killed, lay low as to not get killed, scheme as to not get killed and kill as to not get killed. Or just be Adora. Just like in nature. Catra found that imagining the Horde as an ecosystem, with prey and predators, was both accurate and helpful.

In one of her many jobs, she caught wind of a shapeshifter in the Fright Zone. It was told they were amazing at smuggling contraband and imitations. She only needed to find them in the contraband ring. The contraband ring in turn was hard to locate, Force Captains acted like it didn't exist and soldiers kept silent as not to get caught. Another thing about the Fright Zone, the corrupt system makes it almost impossible to intimidate anyone, you have to blackmail them...Or you could threaten them, if they were small in numbers and idiots, and Catra knew just who she needed.

She prowled through vents and pipes, making special care to keep her claws unsheathed as not to make noise, keeping away from wind currents as to not get smelled, and keeping to the shadows as not to get seen. She prowled and tracked until she found her two victims...Except they were in a group of five, way too many. Catra suppressed her want to groan and slam her head. She narrowed her eyes and prepared for a long tracking mission.

...

As it turned out, it takes quite a while for the group to separate, much to Catra's chagrin. They walked all the way to the lockers before they left to their separate ways. Now, her two victims remained. She crawled, using the pipes to get into position, just above the idiotic duo we all love to hate.

Catra jumped down, and straight into Shiteater's back. Shiteater fell to the ground, grunting as his face hit the metallic floor. Catra made sure to sink her claws into his back, so he wouldn't try getting up. Asssucker went to pry her off, but then stopped when Catra pointed at the scar on the side of his cheek, he quickly went to cover it, but Catra grabbed his arm. She unsheathed her claws, digging into his flesh. Asssucker yowled in pain.

Catra used her free hand to reach into her pocket and pull out her paper. She shook it to unfold it and showed Asssucker. 'Tell me where the contraband ring is. B- F.C Grizzlor' it said. Surprisingly, the backing wasn't faked, Grizzlor owed her after all. Backing was a sort of currency in the Horde, all thanks to the corrupt system of the Horde, it was used to add weight to favors, if someone denied a favor backed by someone on a powerful position, they would be in serious trouble. Grizzlor was in one of those positions.

Asssucker's eyes widened, looking between the backing note and Shiteater. "For Hordak's sake tell her what she wants!" Shiteater screamed. Assuscker hesitated but it only took a little squeeze to get him to talk.

"Ok OK! It's in the northen district. The market will be opening in a few minutes." Catra squeezed just a little more. "Ah shit! Contraband coming from Salineas, Plumeria and the Artic." Catra gave a curt nod, unsheathing her claws and quickly jumping out of their reach before they could retaliate. She smirked at their glare and waved a goodbye before jumping into a vent.

...

Thankfully for them, the idiotic duo told the truth. The place was a cavern near Scorpion Hall, The stalls and buildings were made from rags and metal scraps from what Catra could tell were repurposed war machines. The market was surprisingly full, most costumers were reptilian and Catra figured it was because of the recent oil shortage. She reached into a stall and quickly picked a dirty robe with a hood.

She pulled the hood up, it would be unfortunate if she got caught. She kept her head low, her small stature made blending into the crowd quite easy. She saw an obscure allyway next to a brewery. She contemplated it, but headed into a brewery. The place wasn't very full, it had desert like appearance, just like the photos of the Crimson Wastes, and she immediately knew she was in the right place.

She walked over to the empty bar, there was a bulky woman working it. She sat down on the stall and waited for the woman to approach her, which she did, almost immediately.

"Wot can Ah do for ye, kid?" She asked. She was what Catra assumed was an elf, she had light purple skin and green eyes. Catra looked at her and asked 'sign?'. The woman looked at her with a puzzled expression, she shrugged and reached into the counter. Catra prepared for the worst, but then the woman pulled a pen and note pad. 

Catra nodded and took it. 'I'm mute, but I can hear you.' The woman nodded. "A'ight, wot can Ah do for ye?" She asked again. "Listen, if ya want booze, Ah can't giva ya some 'cause of yer age. Even this place has 'laws'."

Catra shook her head no and continued writing. 'I'm looking for Double Trouble. I've been told you know them.'

The woman looked surprised. "How'd ya know?" She asked irritated, but then looked to the side. "Who's askin'?"

Catra scribbled. 'Me. How about we talk about the deal.' Catra gestured to a table for two at the corner of the brewery.

The woman looked at her and laughed. "Wot makes ya think ya can afford 'em?"

Catra rolled her eyes and wrote. 'Why don't you stop speaking on their behalf and go get them. Unless of course, you are Double Trouble.'

The woman smiled in something akin to excitement. "I'll got get 'em." She went behind a curtain and almost immediately a green reptilian came out.

They were taller than Catra, and perhaps year or two older. "Well hello darling." They smiled and ushered Catra to the table she had pointed to earlier. "I heard you were looking for me?" They took her hand and nodded. "The name's Double Trouble." They looked her over. "Name?" Catra wrote her name down and showed it to them.

Catra nodded and sat. She wrote unto the paper: 'Can you get me skin oil?'

"Straight to business I see. Well, I can...For a price. It won't be cheap either, with the shortage and all."

'3 bottles for 2 backing notes from F.C. Molutok' She pulled them out and placed them on the table, taking careful care to keep them under her palm, to keep D.T from taking them.

"And why should I take these? I would like gold instead."

'Well, let's say some of my 'rivals' decide to rat me out to the right person. This place could get raided over night. The soldiers should leave you alone with these.'

"Hmm... You know, I do this business for the money, but also for the thrill." They gave her the same smile they gave her earlier. "Three backing notes from Catra for four bottles."

Catr contemplated it for a moment. She was too tired from the day's activities to care. She knew it would come back to bite her in the tail, but at that point she probably would've grown immunity to it. Catra sighed and banged her head on the table. 'Deal.'

...

When she walked back into the barracks her squad was already waiting for her. Catra didn't know why but by that time she just wanted to sleep. She took off her stolen cloak and hid it inside of Adora's drawer. Her squad looked at her in both confusion and worry. 

She placed the satchel that contained the oil bottles next to Rogelio's bed. Lonnie took it and looked inside, her eyes went wide. "Catra, how-?"

"Shh" Catra glared. 'Too tired.' she signed. Looking at her's and Adora's cot all the way to the other side of the barracks, and decided it wasn't worth it. She let herself fall onto a slight space on Rogelio's bed and fit herself, curling in on herself. Rogelio turned to the side to allow her more room, she _unconsciously_ scooted closer until she could hear his heartbeat. She heard a loud metallic sound of something scrapping against the floor, probably a a bed. Not like she cared. She felt something press into the mattress next to her and recognized the smell of Adora. Then there was another weight near her feet. She briefly opened an eye to gaze down, finding Kyle making himself comfortable at the foot of the combined beds.

Catra heard a small popping noise of a bottle being opened, she looked up to see Lonnie, applying the oil on Rogelio's skin using a small rag. She smiled. "I got this you can sleep." 

Catra wanted to retort. As if she needed to know they would be fine, she knew that. "D-Don't worry. W-W-W..." Kyle stopped and concentrated. "We got y-you."

"C'mon Catra, just sleep." Adora said, holding her in a hug. Rogelio joined in, surprisingly. "Thank you." He said with a very gruff and raspy voice. Catra couldn't stay awake for longer. They probably couldn't do all that she could, but somehow that was enough. Catra let herself get taken by sleep. And for the first time, she felt somewhat safe in the Fright Zone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So...This is basically a Prologue part 2. I just wanted to better establish Catra's relationships with everyone and stuff. I also wanted to write fluff...And D.T. 
> 
> Okay listen. Catradora is my main meal, Glitra is a treat and Copycat (Catrouble) is my guilty pleasure. And you know what? I CAN'T CHOOSE. Glitra won't happen...Probably. But there is just not many Copycat fics and it hurts. But no, I will contain myself. I said no relationships and I plan to stick by that.
> 
> Also, soft Catra is a rare mood, don't expect it much. It only comes out when her squad mate's wellbeing or rep gets endangered. 
> 
> The squad, minus Adora, know the Horde is evil, they're waiting to GTFO of that place. They're just waiting for Adora 'cause they became a family nd I love them.
> 
> I don't know what else to write. It's 10 pm and I woke up at around 6 am. Don't ask why, I'm on a small week long break from school, but my body's like: HEY, WANNA STICK TO YOUR PREVIOUS SLEEP SCHEDUEL?. Like seriously I'm super sleep deprived. I was feeling like Catra at the end. 
> 
> Welp thanks for reading and stuff. I'll go sleep now. Probably a full 12 hours. Lord knows I need it.


End file.
